BRITAIN: BBC journalist Mr Andrew Gilligan yesterday denied doctoring his computer notes of his meeting with the British government weapons expert Dr David Kelly.
The Hutton Inquiry into the death of the scientist was shown evidence that his Sharp ZQ770 personal organiser contained two versions of his note of the meeting.
Only the second version contained a reference to the then No 10 communications chief, Mr Alastair Campbell.
In his earlier evidence, Mr Gilligan had said that Dr Kelly blamed Mr Campbell for "sexing up" the government's Iraqi weapons dossier in order to strengthen the case for war.
Mr Gilligan told the inquiry that the first version had been made during the course of his meeting with Dr Kelly at London's Charing Cross Hotel on May 22nd which he "saved" on the personal organiser.
At the end of the meeting he then checked the quotes with Dr Kelly and made a number of revisions to his original notes which appeared on the personal organiser as the second version.
It was the second version that contained the single word "Campbell".
Mr Gilligan flatly denied a suggestion by counsel to the inquiry Mr James Dingemans that he had actually made the second version the following day when he was writing up a handwritten note of the meeting.
The inquiry was told that the first version of the note was dated May 21st and the second May 22nd.
Computer analyst Mr William Wilding, who examined the personal organiser, said there was evidence that its computer clock could have been "a day or so out of kilter" at the time of the meeting.
The date could have changed during the meeting if the clock "crossed midnight" while Mr Gilligan and Mr Kelly were at the Charing Cross Hotel.
However Mr Dingemans suggested that an "obvious explanation" for the different dates was that the computer was one day out.